Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine 

United States Department of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is promoting 

the conservation of the southwestern willow flycatcher. 

This endangered bird nests and feeds in dense forests 

of willow and non-native saltcedar (tamarisk trees) along 

southwestern rivers. If you are a landowner or land 

manager with abundant saltcedar on your property, you 

can help. If you have been considering moving tamarisk 

leaf beetles onto your property and releasing them to 

help control the saltcedar, we urge you not to do so. 

Releasing this beetle may harm habitat critical to the 

flycatcher and other native wildlife. In addition, moving 

the beetle without a permit from USDA’s Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) may violate 

the Plant Protection Act*.

River damming and diversion and other man-made 

stressors have created environments that favor saltcedar 

over native cottonwood and willow trees. Because the 

structure of saltcedar is similar to willows, flycatchers 

and other wildlife can inhabit these trees when 

conditions are right. Currently, just over 50 percent of all 

known flycatcher breeding territories rely upon tamarisk 

trees or combinations of native vegetation and tamarisk.

Fortunately, there are ways to control saltcedar 

without using tamarisk leaf beetles, and USDA has 

resources to help. We encourage landowners and lease 

holders to work with the USDA Natural Resources 

Conservation Service’s Working Lands for Wildlife 

(WLFW) partnership. The WLFW typically covers 50 to 

70 percent of the actual costs to improve riparian habitat 

management for the flycatcher. Planting native trees and 

removing non-native invasive plant species can also 

be effective strategies in combination with managing 

man-made stressors. Removing tamarisk trees is not 

expected to elevate water tables already lowered by 

dams, return surface water to rivers, or restore native 

cottonwoods and willows.

To learn more about the WLFW’s flycatcher program, 

visit its Web page by typing “NRCS Working Lands for 

Wildlife flycatcher” into your favorite search engine. 

You can also access the following website for more 

information: www.nrcs.usda.gov/wildlife.

If you have planted or use saltcedar for landscaping 

purposes and wish to protect those trees from the 

beetle, discuss potential pest management options with 

your local Extension agent. To find an Extension office in 

your State, visit USDA’s Land Grant University Website 

Directory and click on your State on the map. You can 

find the Web page by entering “Land Grant University 

Website Directory” in a search engine. In addition, if you 

have concerns about wildfire risk that dead trees may 

pose on your property, you may wish to contact your 

local wildfire response organization for assistance and 

information.

We appreciate your help in protecting America’s 

landscapes and conserving this endangered species.

* Under the Plant Protection Act, the maximum penalty for an individual for a first-time violation not related to monetary gain is $1,100

and $60,000 for subsequent violations. The maximum penalty for

an individual for violations related to monetary gains is $60,000 per

violation. The maximum penalty for legal entities such as a company or

corporation is $300,000 per violation.

APHIS works closely with people or entities that wish to import, move 

interstate, or release a potential plant pest. Part of this work is a 

rigorous evaluation required by the National Environmental Policy Act 

of potential impacts on the environment, including endangered and 

threatened species. When people move organisms in the environment 

without first going through the permitting process, they put fragile 

ecosystems and native species at risk. Before moving a potential plant 

pest, please contact your local APHIS office to learn how to do so 

safely and legally. You can find your State office’s contact information 

online at www.aphis.usda.gov/planthealth/sphd.

The tamarisk leaf beetle 

(Diorhabda elongata). Credit: 

Robert D. Richard, USDA APHIS 

PPQ, Bugwood.org

The endangered southwestern 

willow flycatcher (Empidonax 

traillii extimus). Credit: USDA’s 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service Colorado

A Message From USDA to Landowners and Managers

Moving Tamarisk Leaf Beetles (Diorhabda species)

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. • Issued January 2018